Uchiha Saga
by ChibiYuuki
Summary: Born to Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, the young girl thought she would live the typical shinobi life with the Uchiha expectations on she shoulders. She never knew there would be so much more than that. It started in Konoha, with the Akatsuki thrown in halfway, but where will it end? This is her story, the beginning of the Uchiha Saga; Uchiha Yuki's life before everything went downhill.
1. Author

Hello everyone~ ChibiYuuki here! Please take time to read this long note because I do not plan on writing author's notes at the end of every chapter as I did before. Anyways so I figure I should explain somethings. First of all many of the chapters will be a little longer than Drabble length until a certain part of the story because this part revolves around Yuki as a baby, and I'm pretty sure you do not want to read about her daily baby life for 15 years. So there will be som skipping sound as we will not linger on her toddler years for too long. Secondly I have tried to stay as factual as I could be but some things have been bent to work with the story, don't worry it's nothing major that throws of the whole plot. So for example the Akatsuki all live together in a hideout, Deidara and Hidan join in a little earlier than the canon timeline, and etc. I do not need anyone lashing at me for not being factual because I have spent a long amount of time making sure I would be factual this time around. Regarding Shisui due to his lack of character development I have written him the way I think he could be so do not tell me he is OOC because none of us except for Kishi know.

Yuki has gone through major character changes to make her less of a Mary Sue and more 'human'. Also there might be occasions where her name will be spelled as Yuuki as I have put myself in a name crisis. I had planned on changing the spelling of her name to Yuuki because I like the softer sound of it compared to just Yuki. However I soon discovered that holding out the u changed to meaning of name (Yuki = snow and blessing while Yuuki = gentle princess) much to my distraught. I am still unsure of which spelling I will go with so or now I will semi-alternate until I can decide one which one is more fitting. I'll be happy to listen to everyones opinion as the series goes on and see if everyone will see why I'm being so picky with her simple name.

I will try to update often and it should be easy due to the chapters being a decent length, however do not expect daily updates. I will be spending more time rereading an revising my chapters to my liking. Please also consider that I also have my own personal life which takes up time as well. I don't mind a "Please update soon!" and whatnot but no aggressive rushing please. No bashing in the reviews and no causing any trouble either. Constructive criticism is welcomed as I want to do my best to improve.

I should start wrapping this up so you all can start reading haha. A warning ahead of time there will be some language due to a certain Jashin worshipped rubbing off on Yuki/Yuuki. Possible gore but we'll see how far and detailed I'll be willing to go with on that subject. Not much 'sexual' content in this part as again, we're traveling with Yuki/Yuuki through her childhood. This part will be from birth up to the start of Shippuden.

Disclaimer I do not own Naruto as Naruto belongs to Kishi. Please do not plagiarize my hard work. I've put a lot of sweat, effort and tears (yes tears) into this. I hope I didn't forget to say anything else I wanted to say ^^;; Anyhow off you go to read~ I hope you enjoy reading.

- ChibiYuuki


	2. Prologue

The scent of the hospital was something unavoidable, especially when waiting in the chilled hallway in front of the room. To the three children of the noble Uchiha clan, the overwhelming smell was the least of their worries. "Itachi! Aren't you excited?!" Shisui cheered and happily jumped in his seat. Itachi merely gave his cousin a smile because one, he was excited, and secondly he was starting to wonder if their ages were somehow swapped as Shisui acted more like a six year old child rather than an eight year old. The one year old in Itachi's arms giggled at their cousin's childish antics, "She's going to be the coolest baby ever!" he continued, spreading his arms out to express just how cool his baby cousin was going to be.

If Itachi had a free hand, he would have pinched the bridge of his nose, "Shisui we are not naming her any of those ridiculous names you thought up of."

The older Uchiha snorted, "As if your names were any better. The ones you thought of are lame. Aikiko and Emi, they sound too old fashioned. "

"Well we aren't going to name her Kiyomi or Kamui or Chibi or Chidori. Besides isn't Chidori the name of the copy njnja's jutsu?"

"You mean," Shisui slowly moved his headband over his left eye while pulling the high collar of his shirt to obscure the lower half of his face, "Kakashi Hatake? Yes."

Itachi swore he felt his eye twitched. He was starting to find the things his cousin did questionable. His attention transferred over to the click of an opening door. Without a word he walked over, entering the room with Sasuke in his arms and Shisui jumping behind him. There lying on the hospital bed was his mother dressed in a loose pastel green kimono, holding a white bundle in her arms, gazing at it with such love, that Itachi could actually feel it. Fugaku stood next to her bed stiffly, his arms crossed, but for once his usual stern expression was replaced with a softer vulnerable look. The young boy quietly stood by his father while the other skipped his way to the opposite side.

"Wah Mikoto oba! She's so kawaii!" Shisui cooed as he leaned towards the tiny new born. He couldn't help but poke at her chubby cheeks in attempt to see her eyes- although he knew they would be the traditional Uchiha onyx color. He ruffled the small tuft of hair peeking out from the white blanket, "Hey you, I'm Shisui itoko okay?"

"Shisui don't poke her you might w-" Mikoto started to chide however a small high pitched groan hushed her with a smile.

"So what's her name?" her nephew asked curiously, sneaking his hand into the baby's fingers, letting all five of them curl around his. He smiled when he felt the light grip she had on him, "She's so small. Chibi fits her perfectly."

"No," Fugaku snapped dully with a sigh. The instant Mikoto allowed her nephew to create a list of suggested names, Fugaku regretted not stopping her from allowing it.

"Umeko doesn't sound that bad, but I like Michiko more," Mikoto smiled at her husband, "Ah and I like Chou!"

"Emi..." Itachi muttered but he was quickly over shadowed by the protests that those names were too old fashioned. Suddenly Sasuke started to squirm in his brother's scrawny arms. Itachi readjusted him so that both of them were comfortable.

"Uuki!" the toddler suddenly squealed, clapping his hands with a giggle. The subtle bickering halted as all the pairs of onyx eyes averted to the one year old, "Uuki!" he repeated, this time pointing a stubby finger towards the window across from him. Following the invisible line the family realized what Sasuke was excited about. Snow. The soft white flakes fluttered down across the window gently. It rarely snowed in Konoha, even when it was winter. Blinking at the sight, Itachi came to a new suggestion.

"Yuki," he repeated, "I like it."

Shisui rubbed his chin, mimicking the gesture like an old man, "Yuki.. Yuki Uchiha... Uchiha Yuki..."

"It's perfect," Mikoto grinned, she turned to her husband waiting for his approval.

Fugaku scrunched his eye brows together, having put a lot of thought on what to name his only daughter and youngest child, he had hoped they would go with his wishes of Umeko. He glanced at his two sons next to him only to find that his eldest, had his attention on the newest addition to the family, and the now middle child was still clapping at the snow . The head of the Uchiha clan slumped his shoulders and let out a sigh of defeat as his wife and nephew beamed at him, "Yuki it is," he agreed with the edge of his lips twitching upwards ever so slightly.

"Yuki!" Sasuke exclaimed now pointing at his younger sister.

"Yeah Sasuke, it's our little sister, Yuki," Itachi smiled as the aura in the whole room seemed to lighten as a name was finally decided for the newest Uchiha.


	3. First Day Home

Itachi plopped himself down on the floor and curled into a ball of frustration. Today Yuki was going to come home and that meant his parents were going to be out of the house until then and that meant Shisui had to come babysit the siblings.

"Aw Sasuke! It's not that scary, look! It's just Shisui itoko!" the babysitter cried out, dramatically falling on his knees while reaching out to the toddler waddling away from him.

"I thought you promised you wouldn't do that anymore Shisui. You know how much it scares Sasuke," Itachi sighed, sitting up and opening his arms out for the crying toddler.

Shisui had to shout over Sasuke's wailing, "I thought he wouldn't be scared of it anymore!"

"When you make a face like that, he's bound to be scared," Itachi sighed, soothing his younger brother. Sometimes he felt that he had the unofficial role of babysitter in the house. Which probably was true.

"I hope Yuki doesn't get scared of me," Shisui sulked. As if on cue, the sound if the front door sliding open was hears along with footsteps.

"Itachi! Shisui!" Mikoto called out, "We're home!"

Both children stood up and bowed in unison, "Welcome home."

"Wah Mikoto oba! Can I hold her? Please please please?" Shisui begged, clasping his hands together.

Fugaku opened his mouth to protest but Mikoto was a step ahead of him, "Of course you can Shisui," she smiled at him,"Go sit on the couch."

Shisui did as he was told with Itachi taking a seat next to him, Sasuke happily sat on his brother's lap. Mikoto carefully made her way to them, holding her daughter as if she were holding a fragile glass vase. Slowly she placed the baby into her nephew's outstretched arms before patting both their heads and leaving to prepare dinner. Fugaku crossed his arms and watched from the door frame but followed his wife when he saw Shisui immediately pull Yuki to his chest protectively.

The eldest of the three boys had a grin plastered on his face that went from ear to ear as Yuki's eyelids fluttered open, revealing onyx colored eyes. Shisui bounced her gently in his arms, "Hi Yuki, remember me?"

Yuki blinked at him and he took that as a yes. Sasuke peered curiously at the bundle, wondering just what was in it. Shisui saw the toddler's curiosity from the corner of his eye and seated himself so that the other boys could get a better view. In response Sasuke tilted his head to the side, still unable to fully comprehend the contents in the bundle of pink blankets. Itachi felt a smile creeping on to his lips a he gazed fondly as his new baby sister. Her chubby baby cheeks made it difficult for him to tell which parent she shared the most physical traits to, but he could tell instantly that she had their mother's eyes. He reached his hand out, pushing the blanket encasing her head to reveal her raven hair. Feeling a bit childish, Itachi quickly poked her cheek and Sasuke giggled. Mimicking his brother's action, Sasuke stretched his stubby arm out, leaning forward to take a jab at her cheek as well but Itachi wrapped his arms around him, restricting him from moving.

"No Sasuke you can't do that. You might hurt her," Itachi muttered,"Sasuke might have poked her eye out instead. You know how his balance is," Itachi subtly defended himself when he noticed Shisui staring at him in disbelief.

"Yuki-chan when you grow older don't be a hypocrite like your older br-" the infant yawned in his arms causing him to press his lips together in awe as if it was his first time seeing a human being yawn, "She's so kawaii! Kya I don't know if I can handle just how cute she is!" he cooed, lightly rubbing his cheek against hers.

Fugaku walked into the room with a bottle of milk,"Shisui you can feed her right?"

The babysitter nodded enthusiastically, "Of course Fugaku oji!"

Fugaku grumbled at how casually his nephew talked to him but decided now was not time for a lecture and handed the bottle to his nephew. He stayed a little longer, allowing his arms to cross over his chest yet again. Shisui carefully placed the tip into Yuki's mouth and allowed her mitten incased hands wrap around the bottle. Fugaku watched intently, making sure Shisui was feeding her properly, removing the bottle to allow her to breathe and whatnot. The only moment he left was to fetch a towel for the boy who insisted he was capable of burping the baby.

"Shisui, I think it would be best if you let otousan burp her," Itachi suggested.

"Eh don't worry Itachi! I have this all under control!"

Without a word Fugaku gently took his daughter into his arms and propped her over his shoulder. He had never intended to let Shisui burp her in the first place. Ignoring the protests from the child, Fugaku paced his way to the kitchen to join his wife.

Mikoto chuckled as she chopped up the vegetables on the cutting board, "If Shisui wanted to burp her you could have let him Fugaku."

"You already let him do too much. Besides if she's around him too much she might end up acting like him when she's older," Fugaku felt his eye twitch at the mere thought of his daughter sharing a similar personality to his nephew.

"Shisui is a good kid."

Fugaku sighed knowing his wife was right, "He is a good kid. Quite the prodigy might I add but he could tone down his energy every now and then."

"You know he's just like this because he's an only child right? It must be exciting for him to have more people to hang around. I can tell he and Yuki are going to get along very well."

"Hopefully not too well," Fugaku muttered under his breathe patting Yuki's back in a constant soothing pulse.

Mikoto shook her head and walked over to the stove, "Fugaku what should we have for dinner?" she asked turning to him. Almost instantly her hand flew up to her mouth to muffled her amusement.

Fugaku frowned, "What's so funny?"

"Otousan... I think you should have let Shisui burp her afterall," Fugaku whipped around to find his son at the doorway, Itachi was having trouble suppressing his smile.

Fugaku stared at his family in confusion when suddenly Shisui showed up with Sasuke on his shoulders. Shisui tightened his grip on the toddler's arms, "Oh now I'm glad I didn't burp her. Fugaku oji you have a bunch of crap all over your shoulder."


	4. First Word

Fugaku and Mikoto had just gotten into bed when Yuki's piercing cry echoed throughout the house. If they could have, they both would have rushed to the crib to prevent the possible domino effect that would result in Sasuke joining Yuki's water works, but both of them were _exhausted_. It had been a little over a month and nights like these happened often. Yuki would start crying at ridiculous times of the night preventing anyone from getting any sleep. To top it off, every once in awhile Sasuke would wake up and start crying up a storm with her. But tonight was too much for the married couple. Fugaku was already busy enough with his duties as head of the Uchiha clan along with his duties as a father. Mikoto, although had settled down for being a house wife was equally as busy. She had to keep the house in a spotless condition, clean, cook, care for her children, clean, and keep the house under control. It was nights like these that were draining the energy out of them. Fugaku only managed to sit up due to the shock of the sudden silence in the room. Upon instinct he pulled out a kunai in case of an intruder, but the intruder turned out to be his eldest son rocking the youngest child back and forth. Over the past year with Sasuke, Itachi had become quite the baby handler. Fugaku slumped back down on to his bed.

"You can rest otousan. I'll take care of Yuki," Itachi reassured groggily, still trying to get out of his own daze. His father nodded slowly, quickly drifting off to sleep. Itachi let out a sigh, "Yuki, you can't keep crying like this. I know you're just a baby and don't know any better but everyone is starting to get worn down. Even me," he yawned as they left the master bedroom. Continuously rocking her back and forth, Itachi gradually made his way to his own room. Yuki had stopped crying and instead focused on her older brother. Her onyx orbs stared at him intently as if she was trying to memorize his features for reference later on.

The six year old placed the baby on to his bed then laid down, creating a barrier to prevent her from falling off the bed with the wall covering the side he could not. Letting out another yawn Itachi placed his hand on her back, rubbing it in a circular motion, "Let's go to sleep Yuki..."

For the next few months this process would continue. Yuki would cry at night, Itachi would rush into the room, cradle her in his arms back to his room and the siblings would fall asleep together. Their parents were convinced that now Yuki cried just so then she could be with Itachi. By some miracle Sasuke stopped participating in these long nights, which Itachi was grateful for as he could only hold one baby at a time. It seemed as though Sasuke had aged to a point where he was a bit more independent compared to his sibling. During the day Yuki would be with mainly Shisui as Itachi then had to tend to Sasuke but her oldest brother was never too far away.

"Itachi come look at this!" Shisui cried out.

Rushing into the room holding Sasuke's hand, Itachi went to see what all the commotion was all about. A wave of nostalgia came crashing on him when he saw Shisui slowly move his hands away from Yuki's torso allowing her to sit up all by herself. Sasuke ran over to her, unintentionally knocking her down with a hug. Luckily Shisui with his quick reflexes, placed his hand under Yuki's head to prevent it from colliding with the wooden floor.

"Yuki! Yuki!" Sasuke cheered hugging his younger sister.

"C'mon Sasuke you have to let her go. It's lunch time," Itachi picked Sasuke up, allowing Yuki to be held in Shisui's arms before being placed in a high chair next to Sasuke.

Shisui quickly grabbed the bowl Mikoto had left on the counter a few minutes ago for the girl. He dragged a chair over so that he could sit as he fed her the mushy baby food. Lifting the spoon to her mouth, Shisui opened his wide showing her what she was suppose to do, "Yuki say ah."

Instead she pursed her lips and turned away from him, refusing the spoon with orange mush on it. Itachi chuckled, "She doesn't seem to like listening to you does she?"

Shisui stuck his tongue out,"Pft Yuki-chan always listen to me!" Shisui swirled the spoon around, hoping that she would open her mouth but she would not.

"You have to eat a spoon and then she'll eat some," Itachi smirked at his cousin's distress.

"I knew that!" he pouted, "Yuki look this tastes good!" he hesitated before shoving the small plastic spoon into his mouth. There was difficulty controlling his facial expression as he tried not to show any disgust for the sake of the baby. Forcefully he gulped it down,"See?" he gave her a shaky thumbs up, "It's really good..."

Itachi let out a small laugh,"I was kidding."

Shisui fumed with anger,"What?!"

"You just had to do this," Itachi demonstrated by poking at Yuki's belly causing her to laugh then he shoved the spoon into her mouth and smiled slightly as she began eating on her own will.

"That's not fair!" Shisui whined, crossing his arms childishly.

"What did you expect? I am her older brother after all," Itachi bragged subtly, handing the bowl back to his cousin as he observed Sasuke attempt to feed himself.

"Well when she grows up I'll be like an older brother to her too and I'll mean more to her than you will."

"Sure you will Shisui. Sure you will."

"I'm dead serious! I can just see it now," Shisui quickly wrapped his arm around Itachi's shoulders with his free arm. He slowly waved his hand across the room,"She'll cling on to me and refer to me as her brother instead of cousin. And one day, she will see that I am the cooler one between the two of us and boom!"

"Boom?"

Shisui ignored the comment and leaned in closer to Yuki,"Isn't that right Yuki-chan? You're going to love Shisui the most."

"Shi," she giggled, blowing a spit bubble in approval. Both of the Uchiha boys froze with Sasuke off in his own little world in the back ground.

Itachi blinked,"Yuki, what did you say?" Her response was to blink at him innocently with her mouth stained in orange.

Shisui ruffled her now chin length hair,"Say it again kiddo."

"Shi," she repeated much to the boy's delight.

"Again!" he cheered unable to contain his happiness.

A small smile came upon her equally small lips,"Shi!" she called out with a bit more force.

"Again!"

"Shi! Shi! Shi!"

"What is with all the noise going o-" Mikoto began having been attracted back to the kitchen by all the commotion.

"Shi!" Yuki squealed pointing at the older boy whose name her had said.

Mikoto let out a high shrill cry of delight and lifted her daughter out of her high chair, holding her daughter with excitement, "Just wait and see when your father comes home and finds out your first word! I'm so proud of you!"

In a mock arrogant fashion, Shisui turned to Itachi with a smirk on his face. Itachi had a hunch that Fugaku was going to be less than pleased with Yuki's first word.


	5. One Year

Mikoto knelt on the floor. She slowly backed herself away from her daughter, gently slipping her hands off the girl's torso. Smiling fondly at the girl she couldn't believe how fast she had grown. Yuki was almost the same height as Sasuke despite their little over a year age gap. Her raven locks had grown considerably to her shoulders. Mikoto felt so blessed that she had finally gotten the daughter she always wanted. It was much more exciting to dress up girls than boys. Yuki wore a simple matching pastel yellow dress to Mikoto's apron and a baby blue bow in her hair, tying her bangs off the the side.

"Yuki walk to okaachan!" Mikoto sang, a smile gracing her lips as the toddler's attention focused on her.

She tilted her head, not understanding exactly what her mother wanted. But seeing her mother's arms reaching towards her made her feel compelled to be in those loving arms. So very hesitantly she stuck her right foot out and took a small shaky step. And another. Then another. And before she knew it she was running and giggling into her mother's arms. High pitch squeals of joy and giggles echoed throughout the house and Mikoto felt like they could have be heard throughout the compound, maybe even the whole leaf village. But Mikoto embraced this moment and her daughter swearing to cherish these memories forever.

"Mikoto what's going o-" Fugaku walked into the living room and his image as clan leader shattered when a smile of pride couldn't be suppressed. Right in front of his eyes was his daughter stumbling into her mother's embrace. Her arms wrapped around Mikoto's neck, face buried into her similar raven hair along with nonstop giggles erupting from both of them.

"Yuki, come here," Fugaku called out gently, squatting down to her height, clapping his hands and letting her arms prompt her to him.

The giggle fest came to a pause as the arrival of Fugaku was noticed. Mikoto with slight reluctance placed Yuki so that she could make her way to Fugaku. When Yuki turned back to her mother with confusion, she was simply prompted to go to her father with a nod in his direction. As if she were walking her first steps all over again, Yuki took a step forward. Within seconds she was in her father's arms in another giggle fit tugging at his hair, much to Mikoto's amusement. That smile of pride was still plastered on Fugaku's face and it stayed there for the rest of the day.

* * *

It wasn't long before Yuki's wobble was much sturdier for her to walk around the compound, much to everyone's delight. In particular Sasuke seemed to be much happier now that Yuki wasn't just sitting around anymore. Now he had someone around his age and size to play with. The two year old clenched his fingers around the smaller ones in his hand.

"Sasu," Yuki stuck her tongue out, unable to say her brother's full name.

"Yuki," the boy grinned as he lead her to the older duo.

Shisui and Itachi came into Yuki's sight and she squealed in delight,"Shi! Tachi!"

Freeing herself from Sasuke's weak grasp, she ran clumsily to them with her stubby legs, flailing her arms as she went. Shisui felt a pang of panic every time Yuki's balanced shifted more to one side causing her to lean to that side more. He crouched down to her height and stretched his arms out to her.

"Come here Chibi-chan," he cheered. A bundle of joy appeared in his arms and he lifted her up, resting her on his hip,"You grow up so fast," he ruffled her hair affectionately,"Doesn't she Itachi?"

Shisui turned over to him only to see that Itachi had all his attention on Sasuke in his arms. There was an awkward silence as Itachi didn't notice his cousin's stare until moments later,"What did you say Shisui?"

"Don't do that. They aren't old enough to see it right now but they'll understand it when they're older," Shisui frowned.

Itachi raised an eyebrow,"What are you talking about?"

"Your favoritism towards Sasuke. These kids aren't going to be stupid Itachi. They'll notice it."

"I do not favor Sasuke at all. I love both my siblings equally."

"Then why are you always so focused on Sasuke? Not that I don't adore taking care of Yuki but why don't you do it?"

"One, I don't think Sasuke would enjoy having you as his caretaker and secondly, Yuki gets all my attention at night. She still throws tantrums at night you know."

Shisui sighed,"Alright you got me there but when they're older they might not understand that. So don't you ever make either of them feel like you favor the other."

"I won't. I wouldn't want to make either of them upset in any way. Now let's hurry up or else okaasan will be upset."

The duo walked briskly through the peaceful Uchiha compound, both with a toddler in their arms. Making a sharp turn into the main house, they ran inside.

"There you two are!" Mikoto stood by the kitchen entrance with her arms crossed and an unpleasant facial expression,"It's already bad enough your father can't be home right now for Yuki's birthday."

"I'm sorry okaasan," Itachi apologized, bowing slightly as they all made their way to the kitchen.

"It's okay Itachi, you four are all here now," Mikoto's firm expression softened and she pat the backs of both boys.

"Cake!" Yuki clapped upon seeing the decorated pastry.

"That's for you," Shisui chuckled, poking at her round belly.

She grinned,"Me!" she squirmed in his arms as she reached out towards the flame on top of candle that was placed right in the center.

"Go ahead and blow the candle out," Mikoto cheered, delighted her daughter was finally turning one.

Shisui leaned into the cake so that the birthday girl in his arms was at a closer distance. Opening her mouth as wide as her could, she let her cheeks fill up with air before she extinguished the candle in one go. Cake was quickly cut and served to all the children but only took a few minutes for hell to break loose. Shisui grinned mischievously, unaware of two pair of innocent eyes on him, positioning his spoon like a slingshot, he pulled it back at an angle.

"Oh Ita-chan," Shisui cooed playfully.

"Don't call me t-"

Plop.

There was a silence and then Shisui's howling laughter sliced it in half. Before Itachi could even wipe the bits of yellow frosting and cake out of his long jet black hair, Sasuke had taken Shisui's lead. The boy destroyed his slice of cake with his hands, gathering as much of it as he could before clumsily throwing it at his older brother. Itachi closed his eyes to prevent the it from getting into his eyes.

"Shisui I'm going to-"

Another handful of cake was thrown at his fair skin, landing right on his nose. Itachi blinked as he stared at the culprit in front of him in disbelief. He was starting to come to a conclusion that his cousin was tainting his little sister's personality with his own.

"Good aim Yuki! Right on the target!" Shisui laughed in delight, ruffling her hair. Yuki clapped her hands together and grinned, specks of frosting flying in all sorts of directions as she clapped.

Shisui dabbed his frosting covered hair on her nose so she matched her brother. He grinned as he drew yellow sugary whiskers on both his own face and hers. Not wanting to be left out on the face painting, Sasuke dunked his head into his plate letting the frosting cover his nose, as well a the rest of his face. Everyone but Itachi laughed. Mikoto was too overjoyed to stop the madness in the kitchen. Oh just the thought of her husband's face when he came home made her childishly giddy. Itachi sighed as he was suddenly attacked by two toddlers and a nine year old flinging wads and clumps of cake at him. In the midst of the ambush, he wiped a bit of frosting off his face and licked it off his index finger. Another sigh came from him as he rested his chin on the palm of his hand,"Such a waste of perfectly good cake."


	6. I'm an Academy Student

**A/N I did forget something in my first author note. I assume everyone knows it since I mentioned 'canon timeline' but starting from this point on there ****_will_**** be manga spoilers. So please read at your own risk as we are going along with the canon plot line. I hope you're all enjoying this so far ^^ we won't be in all the fluffy bliss for much longer though.**

* * *

"Tachi it's bath time!" a high pitch voiced shouted from down the hall.

"I'm coming!" Itachi called out, quickly undressing himself from his new ANBU uniform. Suddenly he could hear little wet feet pattering, rumbling louder towards his room.

"Tachi it's bath time!" Yuki repeated.

Itachi felt his eye twitch as both his younger siblings were jumping around at his doorway butt naked.

"Bath time! Bath time!" they cheered in unison, skipping into his room.

"Uchiha Sasuke and Yuki, get back here now!"

Within seconds a fuming Shisui stomped into the room soaked from head to toe. His usually untamed hair was flattened down by water and his black high collared shirt drenched, clinging to his skin. The young duo either didn't notice him or ignored him as they tugged on their older brother's fresh new shirt. Itachi raised an eyebrow,"What happened?"

The eldest of the four dramatically placed the back of his hand on his forehead and leaned against the door frame,"Oh god where do I even start? Well Mikoto oba was busy doing housework as usual, naturally I was left to take care of both of them. We were outside playing games together and both of them got all sweaty and covered in dirt. So then I had to give them a bath and Yuki," he glared at the girl dancing around the room,"insisted that she could take a bath with Sasuke because it would be easier for me. But then when I helped both of them undress she flipped out when she saw Sasuke's," Shisui moved his eyes to the ceiling while clearing his throat awkwardly,"_thingy_ then before I knew it she sprinted out the bathroom butt naked and Sasuke followed her and now we're here."

Itachi blinked,"Here I'll help," he firmly grabbed one arm of each child running circles around him,"Let's go, it's bath time." To Shisui's jealousy the two babies obediently did as they were told and followed Itachi to the bathroom. The door to the bathroom was immediately shut and locked once all four of them were in. Itachi squatted down to their height,"Yuki you used to take baths with Sasuke all the time, remember that?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Then why are you scared now?" Itachi stroked her hair fondly,"You're almost a big girl now and once you become a big girl you can't take baths with Sasuke ever again."

"Ever?" her eyes grew large and horrified,"Why not Tachi?"

Right before he could reply Shisui butted in,"Because big girls don't take baths with their older brother, or other boys."

"But why n-"

"Maybe when you're even older Yuki," Itachi patted her head, ceasing the possibility of an uncomfortable conversation.

"Four is pretty old," she huffed, crossing her arms over her bare chest.

Itachi smirked and rolled his eyes,"Whatever you say. Now would you like to take a bath with Sasuke?"

"Yeah!" Once he made sure the bath water was still warm, Itachi let them into the tub. From outside both Itachi and Shisui were kneeling on their knees, washing the younger duo. In the midst of having her back washed Yuki poked Sasuke's chest, "Sasuke can I wash your hair for you?"

"Go ahead," Sasuke laughed causing Yuki to squeal in delight. Yuki greedily reached for the bottle of shampoo sitting on the edge until Itachi handed it to her already uncapped. Carefully she squeeze a small amount onto her palm before handing it back. She started rubbing it all together before nearly shoving Sasuke's head into the water to scrub his hair. Confident his hair was going to be clean, Yuki took this as her last opportunity to have some fun. Stroking up clumped of his bubble covered locks she couldn't stop herself from laughing, which sparked Sasuke's curiosity,"Are you done yet Yuki?"

"Yes," she snickered.

Sasuke lifted his head up only to be greeted by horribly failed attempts to hide their smiles and laughter,"What's so funny?"

"Shisui look! Sasuke's a cat like Denka and Hina!"

"Sasuke you should keep your hair like this. It's better than walking around with a duck butt hair style," Shisui teased, grabbing a nearby handheld mirror to show Sasuke his new hair style.

Sasuke's jaw dropped when he saw his reflection, his hair separated into two lumps spiked upwards to resemble cat ears,"Yuki!" Sasuke pouted,"Not fair! Give me that," he demanded, reaching for the shampoo and then roughly rubbed and scrubbed at his sister's scalp.

"Sasuke that hurts!" Yuki whined, splashing him slapping a small wave of water at him,"Ah! It's in my eye!" she cried, rubbing her eye furiously.

"Yuki quit moving around," Shisui chided, tilting her head upwards while dabbing her eye with a damp washcloth. After a good scolding from Shisui the two were taken out of the bath and wrapped up in fluffy cream colors towels, dried then dressed in their pajamas. Shisui yawned,"I'm wiped out. I think I'll be heading out now Itachi."

Yuki pouted and latched on to his arm,"I want Shisui to stay!"

He grinned and ruffled her mostly now dry hair,"I'll be back tomorrow morning to take you to the academy," he sniffled and wiped away imaginary tears,"My Chibi-chan is all grown up, but still pretty tiny."

Ignoring the last part she beamed at him,"Really? Shisui-nii, you're coming to my entrance ceremony?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

The little girl pecked his cheek goodbye and swung from his neck for awhile,"Night night Shisui-nii."

Ruffling her hair again he kissed the top of her head with equal affection,"You too Chibi-chan. And you too Sasuke," he playfully slapped Itachi's arm,"and you too my beloved weasel~" he sang and sprinted off, cackling at his own antics before Itachi could properly react.

His fingers made their way to the bridge of his nose,"Sometimes I question why I'm friends with him..."

The next morning Mikoto made sure she had made a bento box for each child's day. She smiled as she walked into her daughter's room only to find the girl struggling to get dressed. Closing the door behind her, she pulled the white dress down and Yuki's head appeared.

"Thank you okaachan!" Yuki grinned.

"Ah look at you! All dressed for the academy," Mikoto smiled, fondly stroking her hair,"Let me brush your hair for you."

Mikoto gently brushed through the tangles, careful to not cause harm to her daughter. Yuki sat as still as a doll,"Okaachan?"

"Hm?"

"Why aren't my bangs like yours and everyone else's?"

Mikoto let her rest her weight on one arm, casually leaning over from behind to see what she meant. Yuki's hair was parted to the left, secured with black pins until the strands learned to naturally return to that position. She gave her a small smile, it was only recently she had decided to let Yuki part her bangs that way, but she had her reasons,"I once had a really pretty friend who had her hair like that."

"Okaachan's friend? Can I meet her?" Yuki asked innocently.

Mikoto's eyes softened with grief as noticed by the four year old,"I don't think so Yuki."

"Why not?"

"She... She passed away."

"Does that mean she died?"

"Yes."

"What does it mean when someone dies okaachan?"

Mikoto paused, phrasing her words carefully,"It means that they've gone far away to a much happier place."

"Why did she have to go to a far away place?"

"Because... Well, eventually everyone has to go away to that far place. It's a part of life. Some people go because they hurt too much emotionally here," Mikoto gently placed her hand over Yuki's heart,"and some people pass away because the physical pain is too much to bear."

Yuki cocked her head to the side and decided to not push the subject anymore after seeing how her mother's mood dropped. Their attention shifted over to the uninvited guest who opened the door,"Chibi-chan it's time to go to the academy," Shisui poked his head into the room.

Hearing that, both faces brightened. A pat on the back and a quick peck on the cheek served as a goodbye for the mother and daughter. It wasn't long for the four of them to leave the compound and walk the streets on Konoha. Hand in hand between Itachi and Shisui, Yuki skipped happily until the kanji for Fire came into sight and excitement was replaced with anxiety.

"What's wrong Yuki?" Itachi asked having felt her change of mood.

"What if I don't make any friends?" Yuki questioned aloud,"Or maybe my sensei won't like me."

"You worry too much. You'll be fine Yuki."

"Niisan is right Yuki! Besides I'm in your class and I won't let anyone hurt my little sister!" Sasuke grinned.

Yuki smiled,"Thanks Sasuke-nii."

"That's what big brothers are for. Now let's go!" Sasuke exclaimed, yanking her hands away from the older boys and lead her into the crowd of other students.

Shisui wrapped his arm around Itachi's shoulders and sniffled,"Look at the two of them all grown up."

"You're so weird sometimes," the younger boy sighed as they walked off.

"How mad do you think Fugaku-oji is going to be at us from skipping that supposedly important clan meeting Ita-chan?"

"Pretty mad."

"But I think it was worth it. Seeing those two go to their first day at the academy I mean, I think that's more important. I think those two will always be more important for me. What about you?"

"Worth it," Itachi turned back slightly with his eyes on the crowd behind them,"And me too."

"Sasuke! Wait for me!" Yuki panted, dashing towards him ass he continued to run into the compound.

Sasuke turned on his heels, crossing him arms and bringing himself to a halt,"Hurry up we have to get home before Shisui-nii and niisan are home."

"They won't be home, they have missions to do!"

"Ah that's right."

"So you can wait for me oniichan!" Yuki giggled, linking their arms together as they walked home. Quickly rushing into the house both of them sprinted into the kitchen.

"We're home!" they greeted their parents in unison.

Fugaku set down his cup of tea,"How was it?"

"Good," Sasuke replied.

"I made new friends after all! The girl who sits next to me is really nice!" Yuki gushed excitedly.

"She's kinda quiet though."

"But she's really nice!"

"Who is she?" Mikoto asked, continuing to finish up the dishes.

"Hinata. Hinata Hyuuga," Yuki smiled,"I hope we can become really close friends. Iruka sensei is really nice too! Oh oh and there's this kid named Kiba and he has the cutest puppy!"

"I'm going to go wash up," Sasuke excused himself from the conversation as Yuki continued to gush about her went up to the bathroom quietly.

"Ah but okaachan! There's this one boy I want to be friends with but I don't know if he wants to be friends with me," Yuki wasn't obvious to how tense Fugaku had gotten at the mentioning of a boy. Then again, all this talk of Kiba and Shikamaru already had him quite tense.

"What's his name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

The married couple tensed, hearing that familiar name. It wasn't out of discomfort much like how other villagers would act. Mikoto turned around slightly to smile at her daughter,"Make sure you and Sasuke be extra nice to him okay? And maybe one day, you will become good friends with him."

It was the least she could do for Kushina and Minato.

Yuki grinned,"I hope so too."


	7. Picnic Worries

Itachi watched as Yuki stumbled on her feet, struggling to hold the large and overfilled picnic basket off the ground. Her small hands were gripping on the handle tightly enough that he could notice the palms developing a red color and the shaking of her arms was noticeable.

"Yuki are you sure you can handle it?" he asked, genuinely concerned that she would drop the basket on her toes.

"I got it Itachi! I'm six years old now, I can handle it," she assured him but the shakiness in her voice let him beg to differ.

Ignoring her protest, he easily took it from her, letting her hold on to his free hand instead. The pair placed a thin sheet of fabric over the grass once they reached their desired area. It was a beautiful field within the compound, a cleared out area of green surrounded by cherry blossoms which were in bloom this time of the year. Today was a good day for Itachi. He had finally received a few days off from his stress and intended to spend every free moment with his siblings, whom he had been forced to neglect. Very carefully Yuki took out four packed bentos and other foods, not wanting to drop anything which would lead to all of Mikoto's hard work go to waste.

"There you two are!" Shisui exclaimed, running towards them with Sasuke barely managing to keep up with him.

"Shisui-nii!" Yuki grinned, waving at him with both hands excitedly.

"For having the title of Shunshin no Shisui, you sure took awhile," Itachi casually murmured.

Yuki stared curiously at Shisui's legs that had earned him his famed title,"Why do people call you Shunshin no Shisui?"

Shisui who was still a few feet away smirked,"Because I can do _this_," and before any of the three could blink, Shisui had suddenly teleported on Itachi's lap with a playful smile plastered on his face.

Itachi with the most unamused face ever, roughly shoved his cousin off despite him being encased by Shisui's arms. On the other hand, Yuki having witnessed Shunshin no Shisui in action for the first time was in complete awe. Sasuke ignored the bickering between the other boys as he drove down next to his sister and grabbed a tomato. Seeing him take a bite of the produce made her grimace,"I don't get how you can eat it like that Sasuke."

"I don't get how you don't like tomatoes," he retorted before taking another bite.

Yuki huffed and smacked the back of his head before tugging on Shisui's sleeve,"Shisui-nii could you train me?"

Said boy took a seat next to her and ruffled her hair,"Of course I'll train you Chibi-chan."

"And then I'll take away your title of Shunshin no Shisui!" she boldly declared, a fire of determination in her onyx eyes.

"Looks like you have a competitor for that title Shisui. Better hold on tight to it because I bet she will take it away from you," Itachi couldn't contain his smirk as he swallowed his dango.

"We'll see about that," Shisui stuck his tongue out at his cousins.

Minutes passed by and the joyous aura continued as the four of them conversed. It had been quite some time since a day like this occurred for them. Being able to mess around comfortably and talking to each other felt relaxing and kept all of them at ease. Of course these days were treasured as they didn't occur often. Itachi was groomed to be the next head of the class thus Fugaku kept him busy with training on top of his duties as an ANBU. Shisui helped around the clan in the police force and also had to tend to his ANBU duties. Sasuke and Yuki still attended at the academy and trained together. Overall it didn't matter what age each of them were, that didn't stop them from being busy. The food was finished off in a short amount of time leaving the two youngest somewhat antsy.

Sasuke puffed out his cheeks,"I'm bored."

Itachi paused and quickly tried to think of a way to fix that. Then the light bulb went off,"Would you like to play hide and seek?"

Three pairs of matching onyx eyes beamed at him, but one was a bit more skeptical,"That's a kids game though. We should do something that could help us train," Sasuke frowned.

"Silly Sasuke. Hide and seek is more than just child's play," Shisui clicked his tongue,"It require skills as a shinobi."

"Like what?"

"Play and find out."

And that's how the game started. Of course Shisui immediately declared Sasuke as the seeker to prove that his words were true. Reluctantly Sasuke covered his eyes and began counting as the others split off in different directions. Yuki found refuge on top of a tree branch, concealing herself within the pink blossoms. Before she could settle down, she instantly realize that all of this was one big stupid flaw and the worst hiding spot. Although it was high off the ground, Yuki stuck out like a sore thumb with her raven locks and her blue shoes were a giveaway as well. Even her white dress was an easy see as they contrasted against her black shorts. The three forth length blue sleeves and hem weren't helping either. Before she could start making her way down, she could see a small black duck butt coming it her direction. Unsure of what to do, she pulled her dress over her head, feeling the breeze nip at the little bit of skin revealed on her lower back. Patiently she waited as Sasuke's footsteps grew louder in a crescendo,rested, and then faintly ran away. Letting out a breath of relief while popping her head out like a mole, she descended down the tree.

"You're lucky Sasuke didn't look up," a voice chuckled. The sudden existence of another voice scared her, causing her to lose her footing and float down only to be caught in a pair of arms.

The girl looked up at the figure and she smiled,"Thanks Itachi niisan." He simply nodded and set her on her small feet. She glanced at him sheepishly,"Tachi can I hide with you?"

"Of course. But on second thought," Itachi bent down to her height and tapped her nose with his index finger,"how about we help Sasuke find Shisui?"

Yuki grinned in approval. She enjoyed 'pranking' Itachi with Shisui but when it was the other way around, there was more of an excitement factor to it. Perhaps it was due to Itachi's usual stoic and aloof behavior he had after joining the ANBU, then having him loosen up during moments like this. She was glad that Itachi still managed to have a more mischievous side to him despite all the stress he carried on his shoulders. The duo searched hand in hand for the eldest.

"He's there!" Yuki exclaimed as she spotted Shisui's curly unruly hair peeking out behind a bush.

Itachi placed his index finger to his lips,prompting her into a silence. He pulled her aside behind a tree making sure that they too were hidden from the roaming seeker,"Have you learned the shadow clone jutsu in the academy yet?"

"Iruka sensei said he was going to teach us it next week," she replied meekly.

"You're smart, I'll teach it to you now."

He demonstrated the hand seals and let her mimic them. It only took a few attempts before a replica of the girl appeared. Itachi let Yuki climb on to his back and dashed away. Meanwhile Yuki's clone screamed and flailed her arms towards her cousin attracting Sasuke who happened to be nearby. Elsewhere, Itachi snickered slightly at his simple scheme.

"That was completely unfair," Shisui whined, crossing his arms. After a few more rounds, with each consisting of Itachi plotting against his cousin, the four had regrouped back to their picnic area to resume eating.

Yuki giggled,"You could have used a shadow clone too."

"Don't expect me to treat you to any dango from now on."

"What?!"

Itachi scooted closer to his sister and patted her head,"If he won't buy you any then I will."

"Itachi-nii is the best!" Yuki cheered, finishing up the rest of her bento box.

"But Chibi-chan!" the eldest pouted as if he had aged back ten years. He let all of the muscles in his body loosen, leaning against the helpless girl with his weight,"Itachi taught you the shadow clone jutsu but I'll teach you the jutsu every Uchiha knows."

"Eh really?!" she beamed,"But Shisui-nii is so busy."

"I'll always have time for my Chibi-chan though," he smiled while ruffling her hair,"Here Itachi go stand over there and help me demonstrate the effects of this jutsu," he instructed, prompting Itachi to stand a few feet in front of him.

Itachi folded his arms over his chest, mirroring his father's usual stance,"Is this good enough?"

"Perfect," he gave him a thumbs up before his attention shifted to the younger children, because of course Sasuke wouldn't miss out on an opportunity to train,"Now we can't actually perform the jutsu because well, it would cause quite a few problems due to our location. But the hand signs are like this," he explained, then proceeded to visually show them the proper hand formations,"then to finish it off you take a deep breath and then blow!" Shisui finished, releasing the air in his chest as a small breeze of air rather than the usual large flame ball in Itachi's direction,"Now you try first Yuki."

With the guidance of her cousin Yuki stepped up to where he had stood seconds ago. She nervously bit at her lip while hesitating with each hand seal due to her nerves. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shisui mouthing invisible and inaudible words of encouragement to her. Sucking up as much air as she could, she held it in and then released a breath of air in Itachi's direction just as Shisui had. To her shock, Itachi's arms abruptly unfolded, flailing in all directions. His composed form had undone itself within a second. His knees buckled as his chest moved as though senbon were being shot at him repeatedly. In the blink of an eye he had fallen face down on the ground. Yuki stood frozen in fear unsure of what had just happened.

"Itachi?" she called out shakily, her voice on edge and trembling.

"And that is how someone handles Katon Gokyakyu no Jutsu," Shisui grinned proudly.

Itachi lifted his head up with a sheepish smile,"How was that?"

"Uh oh oniisan," Sasuke frowned.

Itachi stared at what the problem was. Yuki look right back into his eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks with every blink, mucus running out of her nose and trembling lips. He rushed to her and trap her in his arms,"Yuki don't cry! I am so sorry Yuki! I'm really sorry! It was just a joke! Don't cry!" he gushed trying to comfort the crying girl in his arms. Wrapping his arms around her protectively, he buried his face into her small shoulder in regret for going along with Shisui's plans. Tears drenched the crook of his neck and he felt a bit sore in the area as Yuki had her arms clinging around his neck.

"Chibi-chan! I'm so sorry too!" Shisui cried out dramatically, running over to both of them and encasing them both in his arms.

Sasuke simply decided he was going to make his sister feel better a different way,"You two are so weird sometimes."

"Chibi-chan can be quite the crybaby," Shisui sighed.

It had taken awhile to soothe the crying girl as she claimed she was upset with the two older boys for playing that type of joke on her, but the promises of sweets and Sasuke's idea of racing seemed to work. Now Itachi and Shisui were simply supervising the younger pair from a decent distance.

Itachi nodded his head,"Crybaby seems like an accurate description."

"You know, that makes me worry for her," Shisui mumbled while shifting in a more comfortable position by hugging his knees to his chest.

Itachi also moved sensing a more serious conversation with the mature side of his cousin coming up,"I worry for her too."

"I know you do but it's just... With her bring a crybaby," he bit his lip unsure of how to phrase his emotions into words,"She's not really fit to be a shinobi like that. I know she's an Uchiha and therefore exceptionally talented and battle orientated, and to top it off she's considered the 'princess' of the clan, but she's not... suited to be a shinobi."

"I understand. There's no questioning Yuki is a prodigy much like the rest of the clan, but her emotions get the best of her. She can't be on the battlefield and start crying if something goes wrong for obvious reasons. She's reluctant to fight too."

"Yes her emotions are her weakness as a shinobi and hold up, _what_?"

"She told me a part of her didn't want to go to the academy because she didn't want to learn how to kill."

"Do you think we could ask Fugaku-oji to somehow take her out of the academy?"

"I highly doubt it. Like you said, she's considered the princess of the clan. She _has_ to be an excellent kunoichi. That girl carries just as much on her shoulders as I do."

"You know, I don't really want Yuki to be a shinobi or well in her case kunoichi," Shisui confessed,"I don't want her to have to handle the emotional trauma and experiences as a shinobi. This is probably the most ridiculous thing to say as an Uchiha but, I hope Yuki never gains her Sharingan. _Especially_ her Mangekyou Sharingan. There's too much emotional pain to obtain these eyes and I don't want her to have to go through that. I hope that she'll never have be forced to kill anyone she cares or or that she'll witness those precious people to her die. I want her to stay the innocent,naive, kind, pure, crybaby of a child she is. But if she becomes a shinobi, there's always that risk that what I want will disappear while what I don't want will happen. Then there's the possibility of her falling to," Shisui frowned,"our clan's 'curse'."

Itachi pressed his lips together, finding himself agreeing with his cousin. There was a silence as those words sank into both of them. The silence between the two wasn't an awkward or chilling aura but rather an acknowledging aura that didn't require words. They gazed fondly at Yuki and Sasuke who were occupied with trying to beat each other. Suddenly Itachi's lips twitched upwards,"You know, there's one other problem we have to worry about when it comes to her."

"And what's that?"

"_Boys_," Itachi hissed and subtly cracked his knuckles at the mention of the topic.

Shisui could have sworn he saw Itachi activate his Sharingan, then again, he had his own activated too.


	8. Motivation

Yuki pressed her lips together as she crept towards her best friend, resisting the urge to giggle and give away her position. It was this same occurrence again that sparked her curiosity.

Playfully she swatted at Hinata's back,"Hinata-chan what are you doing?"

Hinata let out a yelp despite the light touch,"Yuki you scared me!"

"What is it you do everyday?" Yuki crossed her arms and puffed out her chest.

When Hinata simply shifted her feet and fiddled with her fingers timidly, Yuki decided to take a look. Not so subtly she stepped out to the side and stared in the direction Hinata had been staring at. That's when she noticed that boy. There he was again with his bright blonde hair, usual t-shirt and shorts outfit, sitting on a metal bar while staring at the Hokage Monument.

Naruto Uzumaki.

Over the past two years, Yuki's shyness got the best of her and she could never muster the courage to befriend the boy. She was also curious about why the blonde was always neglected by what seemed like the entire village. No one had ever told her why, even when she asked her parents. They had simply told her to be kind to him. She didn't see what was wrong with the boy as he looked perfectly normal to her and he acted as a class clown. Well besides the whisker like marks on his cheeks. Other than that nothing else seemed odd about him.

"Do you want to be friends with him too Hinata-chan?" Yuki asked, her eyes never leaving the lonely boy.

"Eh? Well yes. But I don't think otousan would be happy with it," Hinata replied, gluing her eyes to her fingers.

"I want to be friends with him too. Maybe someday, both of us can stop being shy and become friends with him."

"I hope so."

A bit reluctantly Yuki turned away on her heels and swung her arm around the older girl's shoulders as she lead them away from the scene,"Let's get going on home."

The Hyuga compound happened to be in the same direction as the Uchiha compound, although it was closer to the Academy. Yuki rarely got the chance to walk with Hinata after school but today Sasuke was staying after for extra training, therefore Yuki was free to walk with her cherished friend. What brought the two girls together, no one really knew what. Both were extremely shy but their friendship blossomed most likely when the two were seated next to each other.

"Yuki-chan?" Hinata poked Yuki's arm timidly,"Do you have anyone you like?"

"I like a lot of people," Yuki replied with a grin.

"Eh? No not that kind of like."

"Oh you mean the type of like like how you like Naruto-kun?" Yuki teased causing the latter to flush a dark shade of red.

Interrupted from her teasing ways, Yuki's attention was drawn away by the sudden barking noise. Kiba Inuzuka came into view running along with his puppy, Akamaru. The duo were acknowledged with a wave and a bark before staring at Kiba's back. The rest of the walk was peaceful with the two conversing quietly until they reached the gates of the Hyuga compound then said their goodbyes.

"Yuki, what are you doing here?" a well known voice asked.

The six year old bowed politely,"I was walking Hinata-chan home, otousan."

Fugaku was dressed in his uniform; a green flak jacket, a black shirt underneath that had the Konoha Military Police Force symbol on the shoulders, shin guards and a black open front apron with white diamonds on the bottom. He stood in his usual stance with his arms crossed and his stern expression,"I see," he acknowledged and began walking past his daughter,"Get home soon."

"Yes otousan."

Yuki frowned when Fugaku was out of view. He was always like that. Stern, cold, distant, and uncaring, all those were words she would have used to describe her father. A bitter feeling spread around her. He never truly acknowledged he the way he did Itachi. Even Sasuke received more recognition than her. She clenched her fists, one day she was going to get his approval. Holding on to the strap of her bag crossed over her chest, she ran home determined to train with her mother as she has begged the day earlier.

"Okaachan! I'm home!" Yuki shouted as she rushed to take off her shoes and into the kitchen,"Can we train like you said we would today?"

Mikoto smiled when she saw her daughter, however her expression faltered when she noticed a red stain near the bottom of Yuki's dress,"Yuki what happened?" she asked as she bent down, lifting up her dress to find a patch of nearly dried blood on Yuki's knee.

"Oh that," Yuki scratched the back of her head nervously,"I fell while playing tag."

"You should be more careful," Mikoto let out a sigh of relief that it was only a minor incident, she left briefly to get supplies from a first aid kit. Yuki had sat herself on a cushion when her mother came back to make the process easier. Mikoto pushed some of her own hair behind her ear as she disinfected the injury and finished it off by bandaging it.

"Thank you okaachan," Yuki grinned.

"Be more careful okay? Don't play too rough."

"I'm fine okaachan, let's go train together! You said you would help me with my shuriken technique!" she eagerly exclaimed, grasping her mother's hand and made an attempt to drag her out to the training ground but with no success.

"Yuki you have to let your knee heal. What if you get more injuries?"

Yuki pouted,"But it's just a scrape on my knee that's not going to stop me from improving."

"Why are you so insistent on going today?"

"Because," Yuki kept her onyx orbs glued to her toes,"I want otousan to be proud of me."

Mikoto's expression faltered, yet a part of her wasn't completely surprised. She knew very well what kind of man her husband was. He's a man of few words and tends to focus more on one child than the rest. Of course she was aware that Sasuke and Yuki would feel the same way about their father. But she knew out of her three children her youngest was the one receiving the worse end of the stick. Part of it was because she was the youngest, another simply because of her gender and her pacifist nature. What caused her daughter to be a pacifist to Itachi's level, even when the child herself had never seen bloodshed, was a mystery. The clan was aware of this and for that reason looked down on her to some extent. After all, Yuki is the daughter of the head of the clan. The clan's princess in a way. The Uchiha clan are a well respected clan due to their skills and successful ninja. A pacifist like Yuki would 'stain' the clan's name according to some of the elders. This of course should have motivated Fugaku to step in but instead his attention was always on grooming Itachi as heir to the clan. Despite the boy being a pacifist himself.

Mikoto forced a smile and stroked her daughter's straight raven hair,"Your father and I will be proud of you no matter what or how you do. Do you know why Yuki?" the girl shook her head and a genuine smile replaced the forced,"Because you're our precious daughter and we'll love you no matter what."

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**A/N** Check out this blog I made for author's notes, updates and etc: simply look up shunshin-no-yuki on -whisper- erase spaces and replace on with a dot and doom there's the link lol. Either way works. Sorry i couldn't get the link I shall try to get it on my profile as well though ^^;;


	9. Difficulty

**A/N : Link to the blog mentioned in earlier chapter has been added to my profile. Sorry for the inconvenience OTL I didn't know that it didn't show up in the last A/N. **

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Shisui couldn't contain his pride in his cousin who had progressed much quicker than his expectations. Dodging another kick, he countered by firmly grabbing her ankle to prevent anymore movement,"Yuki I think this is good enough for today."

To his surprise, Yuki managed to free herself from his grasp, using her free leg she jabbed at his stomach causing him to release her and stumble back a few steps. Her feet slid across the dirt as she kept a firm gaze on him, "No I can't stop now."

"Yes you can and you should." Living up to his title, Shisui appeared behind her and trapped her wrists in his hands,"You need to stop before you pass out from exhaustion."

Panting heavily, Yuki gave into her sore aching muscles and gave him a curt nod of agreement. Shisui let out a sigh of relief and sat down, pulling his cousin to join him. For a few minutes there was no noise besides the heavy breathing, birds chirping and leaves rustling against the wind.

Yuki bit her lip,"Shisui-nii, if I tell you something will you promise not to tell anyone?"

"Of course."

"I learned Katon Gokakyu no Jutsu a few days ago when I was training all by myself."

"Eh?! Really?! Yuki that's great! Why didn't you tell me right away?"

"Because Sasuke hasn't learned it yet."

Shisui faltered to form his words. He had always known Yuki knew more than she should at her age like other children who walk the path of a ninja, but her understanding of the clan took him by surprise. The Uchiha are a clan of great pride. Every member, particularly the men, held on to a great amount of pride. Sasuke was no different despite only being seven. It would be embarrassing for him if his _younger sister_ learned the coming of age Jutsu before him. Shisui ruffled her hair,"Ah I see. That's nice of you Chibi-chan. Want to show me how it's done?" he grinned. Without hesitation Yuki sprang up on her feet and performed the Jutsu, creating a giant sized fireball in the middle of the training ground. Shisui clapped his hands in approval,"You really got it. Next thing I know you'll become second best to me when it comes to the art of the body flicker."

"You mean I'll take your title away from you!" she snapped, sticking her tongue out playfully. The cheery mood faded as the girl sank to the ground, intercepted by Shisui as Yuki stumbled back, her legs turned into jelly. Blinking her eyes rapidly to fix the blurriness, all she ended up seeing was darkness.

"Yuki!"

* * *

"Chibi-chan really needs to stop working too hard," Shisui frowned with his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall,"She's been pushing herself a lot more than usual."

Mikoto's brows knit together,"With you too Shisui? Ah I should talk to Fugaku then. Sasuke had been acting like this too."

"No Mikoto oba, I'll talk to him on their behalf. I'll be back before Chibi-chan wakes up."

And with that Shisui left the room in search of his uncle. It was always obvious how Fugaku spent more time with Itachi. Thus neglecting his other two children who strive for their father's attention. However Itachi had been acting differently recently, so Shisui hoped that would push Fugaku toward Sasuke and Yuki more. But Itachi worried him too. His odd behavior didn't go unnoticed after all, he was treating Sasuke, who he always made time for, distantly as well. Shisui let out a sigh and relaxed his arms.

_Itachi what's going on?_

"Shisui. I would like to speak to you."

Said boy turned to the owner of the voice only to find the person he had been looking for,"Fugaku oji I wanted to talk to you too."

"About what?"

"Yuki. And well Sasuke too."

Fugaku stared at his nephew blankly,"Before any of that, how has Itachi been doing? You've been keeping an eye on him for us correct?"

"Yes sir I have. Nothing to worry about Itachi is simply stressed," Shisui lied.

Fugaku closed his eyes, nodding his head,"Good."

"About Yuki though-"

Shisui paused when he saw Fugaku groping around his vest pockets for something. The man pulled out a silver chain and let it dangle from his fingers. It was then that Shisui noticed there was a pedant on it, the Uchiha Clan's crest fell right to the center of the chain. Fugaku reached his hand out, prompting Shisui to place his hand out as the chain fell into the palm of his hand,"Give this to her."

Shisui raised an eyebrow,"It's not her birthday yet. Is there a special occasion for this?"

Shisui could have sworn he saw Fugaku's lips twitch upward before he turned away from him,"She's earned it as a member of this clan."

The puzzle pieces quickly assembled in his head,"You saw her?"

The head of the clan froze mid step before turning around ever so slightly,"I saw her practicing at the pier earlier. You know what to do Shisui."

The boy nodded and smiled,"Yes sir."

"Good. I'll be heading back to the station then."

Shisui bowed to the latter's back and stood up with a grin plastered on his face. The necklace held firmly in his hand he couldn't help but think that maybe Fugaku did love his children equally. He just had some difficulty showing it.

* * *

Yuki laid in bed, her scratches and cuts bandaged up, dirt cleaned off her face. Seated on the edge of her bed, Shisui ran his hand through her wild locks. She insisted on keeping his hair messy and unruly like his own. A smile graced his lips when the child's eyelids fluttered,"Hey kiddo."

"Shisui-nii? What happened?" she pondered.

"You used up too much chakra and passed out."

"Oh."

"But look at what I got you while you were asleep," Shisui cooed as he pulled the necklace out of his pants pocket.

"Wow Shisui-nii! You got this just for me?" Yuki beamed with twinkling onyx orbs at the necklace dangled in front of her face.

Shisui ruffled her hair,"Of course Chibi-chan! Think of it as a coming of age gift for you since you learned the coming of age Justu."

"Really? Thank you so much Shisui-nii!"

"No problem kiddo."

"I'll wear it all the time!"

"I would hope so," he chuckled at the girl's excitement.

"I'm going to show okaachan!" Yuki declared, tossing her blanket off the the side.

"Oh no you don't missy," Shisui chided as he grabbed her arm to refrain her from moving,"You need your rest."

"I'll go to sleep after I show okaachan," Yuki compromised,"Please Shisui-nii?"

Letting out a sigh of defeat, the older boy nodded,"Here let me put it on," he muttered a he let the clasp click together around her small neck.

Yuki smiled when the necklace was around her neck and ran to the kitchen, Shisui trailing behind her,"Okaachan! Look look! Shisui-nii got me this necklace!"

"Oh did he now?" Mikoto dried her hands before she bent down to her daughter's height. Her fingers grazed over the glossed pendant slowly,"That was quite sweet of him wasn't it?"

Yuki nodded in agreement as Mikoto continued to chat with her. Shisui smirked and leaned on the door frame. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Fugaku sitting at the table sipping his tea. He would never forget the small smile on Fugaku's face.


End file.
